Apparatus for transporting concrete



Sept. 12, 1933. HQFFMANN 1,926,624

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE Filed May 24, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Edward A. Hoffman/1 3 miWzm Sept. 12, 933- E. A. HOFFMANN 1,926,624

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE Filed May 24, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Maw/W I P 9 E. A. HOFFMANN 1,926,624

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE Filed May 24, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 p 1933- E. A. HOFFMANN 1,926,624

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE Filed May 24, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 E 3 g l I! I g B hi Q s ,7 r g "i ii Q3 0 Jae/gi o n L I Sept. 12, 1933. E. A. HOFFMANN 1,925,624

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE Filed May 24, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 n 0911110 Edwar/ l7. HOfF/r: ann

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Sept. 12, 1933- E. A. HOFFMANN APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE Filed May 24, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 ZZ? ue 1210/ Edward /7. Ho ffmann Sept. 12, 1933.

E. A. HOFFMANN 1,926;624 APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE Filed ma 24; 1930 s Sheets-Sheet 8 Edward /7. Hoff/17am? MZMW fir iorngsy.

' 45 tank.

55 lustrati'ng thelsamedetached.

PatentedS ept. 12, 193? r 7 I I ,1,926,6241 3; APPARATUS Fon TEANSPORTING CONCRETE 1 Edward A. Hoifmann, Reading, Pa... assignor to ClintonMotors Corporation, Reading, Pa.,a I corporation of New York j Application May 24 1 930; serial No; 455.377 v if i screens. (01. sa 7s) The present invention relatesto apparatus for "Fig. 13 is a detailview in side elevation of the transporting ready mixed concrete from a cen said supporting chassis. tral mixing plant at the points where construe- Fig.1); is a detail view in end elevation of the tioh operations are being conducted. More spe said supporting chassis, also illustrating the same 5 cifically, the present invention relates to appadetached. 7 a e ratus which is adapted to carry out the-process Fig. -l5 is a view in side elevation of .a motor described and claimed inniy copending applicatruck having a concrete conveying and mixing tion Serial No. 262,789. The present application tank mounted, thereon, illustrating a' modified alsojemoodies some features 'of apparatus ,disform of .hoist,thefsaid tank being illustrated in closed in my copending applications Serial No. raised or discharge positio'm' n l 1 214,995 and Serial No; 326,395.. Fig-l6 is an enlarged detail fragmentary view Theobjects of the present invention and th illustrating I the supporting arms or hoist for advantages that flow threreirom will be apparent a s ng the tank to discharge p0$ition. V to those skilled in the art from the following Fig. 17 is aldetail transverse sectional View 157 specification and the drawings which constitute taken on the line 17 -17 of Fig 16 j 1 apart of the present application. v Figs. 18, 19, 20,.and 2i are enlarged detailviews In the. drawings: 1 r illustrating the several points'oi connections of V Fig. l is a view in side elevation of a motor the hOisfiflg .a l

truck illustrating a concrete conveying and mixr fo m invehtidn is illustrated g I his: tank constructed i accordance with the land comprises a t uck av s bddyframe 75;

present inventionmounted thereon, thefsaid r t3t e ta 24 which carries the tank being illustratedin raised or discharge posif e e n pt a l h 2 is! n n; provided with a pair of trunnions 25 which are .Fig. 2"isan enlarged View in side elevation of 1 9 fi-b h lamenting fq fifi ""if 25 theflccnveying tank and .supporfingchassis or bearingszfi and; 27, these, mturn belng carried-gm frame therefor. I ,p by supports 38', 29; respective1yf This'entirebr- Fig. 2 is a transverse detail-sectional view eag gt e fis. QFW -P m e fFame 30 *1 th ti 1' h then on the line 3' 3 smv e a a P m- 1 lsubstaneallyw-ll g gfs c 3 incldent with the rearend ofthe tank 24.11) the.

30. Fig. 4 is a further enlarged view irriront ele-j rear end the main 'bodyhfram The-tilt, I

n able frame 30 which as shown is'fdisposed belbw- 1 Q. El! l ,l 1;. or unvoflug mustmtmg more the tank 24 and 1s nterposed between the main particularlythe rotating mechanism associated therewith. e I 7 body 'frame23 and thetank 24, alsocarries the Y .J

Fig. 5 is a view in rear elevation of the concrete Dewey dev-lce Such an Internal 'combustlon a '11 V I 21 mg 113 q is provided with a ho sting device well known in ilagnlbntary Q 5 slmllar 9 theart which is schematically illustrated in.Fig. Fig.5, lh partlculami1nutratm$ Ithe 1 bv. the element33 'for raising the tank from its grab? i ig 9 parbs le fi V horizontalfposition tov its tilted position. ig. '7 '1s;a detall sectional viewtaken onthe operating elements" in the present construction. Flg 8 1s -a detail sectional vlewtalren on the The detailed description of various. parts of e 11118 of lllustmtmg the plnow blcck organization will now. be takenup individually.

enginei32' for rotating the'tank' 2 4; The truck "The'above in brief illustratesfthemaih co Comprising a S pp fi Q bearillg'fol n e i e The construetion of'thetiltable frame30 and e i V I its'associated supporting elements "28 and 29 is Fig. 9 is a detail sectional viewtaken on the shownin greater detail in Figs. 2, 3, 12,.13aridline 9--9 of Fig. 6 illustrating the ,rear or dis-j 14. The tiltable frame 30' is hestillustrated in charge end of the tank. 7 J 1 Figs. 12 and 13} Apair of longitudinally dis Fig. lo'isa detail sectional view taken on the posed I-beaniSare shown, the same beingpro- 5 line v10-10056 Fig; 6; 5

Fig. 11 is a detail sectional view taken onthe At thefrear endthereofthe frame is provided line 11-11'of Fig.6. e p with a transversemember ilfilwhich isdisposed Fig. 12fis a] detail top planview oithe chassis across the rearends of the I -beams 34. .A pair or frame for. supporting the conveying tank, il: of plates '37 are carried at the rear endioffthe vided with a reinforcing transverse member 35. V

f rainegthese plates being inclined toward each 9 other and being bridged by a horizontal plate 38 which serves as a table for supporting the rear trunnion bearing 26. gether' with the table 38 constitute a frame for the outlet of the-tankze so that when the tank is tilted to the position shown in Fig. 1 and the slidingxdoor 39 is opened the concrete maybe observed as it passes or flows out of the tank.

Associated with the frame 30 at this point is a chute 40 pivoted on the frame 30 andv extends downwardly and rearwardly between the longitudinal beams 34 and may be adjusted to'various raised or lower positions by'means .of the chain 41. Lugs or ears 42 are provided at the sides of the chute 40 near the discharge'end to hang the supporting hooks of a longer additional chute thereon when desired. When the rotation of the tank is stopped preparatory to raising it and to removing its contents, care is taken that the position of the tank is such that the outlet of the tank is disposed between'the legs 37 of the table 38 so that the contents of the tank flow out into the chute 10 and are directed properly- The frame 30 preferably carries the laterally disposed tables 43. The forward portion of the frame 30 is also provided with a table '38 for the support of the forward trunnion bearing 27; this table 38' being'similarly supported by a pair of legs 37 which are bolted onto'the I-beams of the frame 30. f s s 1 In addition to the trunnion bearing table, the front portion of the frame also isprovided with a table 43 for the support of thepower device 32.- 7 Referring now to the specific construction of the tank 24 and of themeans for supporting and rotating the same, it is important to note that the tank is provided with-a smoothfunencnmbered interior, the tank'being substantially cylindrical in shape and having no stirring or agitating'device disposed"interiorlythereof. The present apwithin the concrete during the processof mixing to escape therefrom fto'the space available above the body of concrete. "In order tofaccomplish; this purpose the'tank is provided with smooth interior walls, and is provided with trunnions 25" which 'are'o learly illustrated'in Fig. 8 of the drawings. The use of these trunnions "obviates the use of any shaft interiorly of the tank thus permittin'g'the loading of the tank up to almost three' fourths of'its. height and still permitting the slow rotation of the tankand subjecting the concrete to' theslow rolling over motion without the body of concrete meeting any obstructions whatever. I Referring to Fig. 8, the trunnion 50 will be observed as'being'provided with ahead plate 51, which "is bolted against theend plate 52 and held in plac'e'by means of the trunnion flange 53-which is disposed'exteriorly of the tank. The trunnion 52 is provided with the reduced portion 54 which carries the pillow'block 55 supported-on the table Before attaching the q nion flange 53to the tank head 52, the tank'head is stiifene'd by attaching thereto a stiffening annularplate' 55'on the inside of the tank head 52 and surrounding the opening through which the trunnion 50 passes. This plate 55 is prefera The plates 3'? toits contents in either direction.

trunnion 50 and the trunbly attached to the tank head 52 by welding the same around its periphery 56 to the inside of the tankhead. The bolts 57 and 58 serve to hold the trunnion, and the trunnion flange in assembled relation to the tank head 52 and the stiffening plate 55., The bolts 58, disposed on the lower portion of this assembly are preferably countersunk so as not to interfere with the sliding of the rear or discharge door or gate 59. The trunnion flange 53 is provided with a series of reinforcing ribs 60. It will be seen, however, that the lower portion of the flange 53 does not have any rib which would interfere with the movement of the forward trunnion 25 will be understood, there being'many modifications which flow out of the shown in flange 53 1 The rear trunnion is substantially longer than the-forward trunnion by reason of the fact that room must be provided between the table 38 and thetankhead for the operation and manipulation of the slidingdoor 59.

It will'be seen, therefore, that the entire table construction as supporting the forward trunnion bearing 2'7 isspaced much more closely with relation to the forward tank head than the rear trunnion bearing and its table.

The trunnion bearings which are duplicated,

one being provided to cooperate with each trunnion, are shown in'detail in Fig. 8. The housing The inner rotatable member 63 of this assembly rotates with the reduced portion 54 of the trunnion. The end collars'fie serve to clamp these elements and hold the same in theirassembled .relation. The end closure cap 65 shown in Fig. 5

e is secured to the housing and makes an oil tight joint therewith. The type of bearing shown hereinis provided with'two sets of anti-friction rollers 66 disposed angularly with relation toeach other as shown in Fig. 8. By means of this type of bearing the end thrust is taken up by each of the bearings at each end of the tank. This is important when it is realized that an apparatus of the type described herein frequently carries several tons of concretein a liquid fiowable condition; Sudden application of brakes to the entire truck causes a very considerable end thrust 'upon the entire tank. These'bearings are designed to 'co-operate with the entire apparatus so as to completely take up all end thrust of the tank and Referring nowfto the specific construction of the outlet and sliding door, the same is illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 10, The rear tank head 52 is provided with a discharge opening 67 more clearly illustrated in. Fig. 9. An inspection of Fig. 9

will show that the rear tankhead 52 which is.

manual member 88. operates a clutch mechanism between the source brought into the position shown. in Fig. 1. 1 sliding door is then moved to its open position I 1,926,624 of may be coveredv by plates welded or otherwise attached thereto to prevent the lodgment of any concrete between this' angle plate 69 and the tank wall 52. x a H In order to protect the bottom of the opening 67 against any possible injury thearcuate bar '20 is riveted onto the outer edge of the tank 24 which constitutes the bottom of the opening 67. This bar '70 preferably extends substantially beyond the outer edge 710i this portion of the tank and serves as part of the frame work for theopening 6'7 and the slidingdoor 59. At its opposite ends the reinforcing bar '70 is welded to the tank head 52 as shownat 72 in Fig. 11.

door frame '23 having a shape similar to the shape of the outlet 67 is attached to the end wall of the tank by screws or the like. -Mounted on the door frame and along each side of the opening are the angle bars 74 which provide tapering passages with the verticalportions of the:

frame 73 for-the operation of' the sliding door 75.- The specific construction and operation of this door is clearly illustrated in my copending application Serial No. 326,395, and a further description of this portion of the disclosure is therement of pinion 81 withthe above mentioned ring gear 80. The pinion 8l-is mounted-on the pinionshaft 82 which is connected to the source of power 32 and operated thereby. V The ring gear is preferably covered by the channel shaped guard 83, this guard being supported by braces 84 and 85, these braces also serving as reinforcing elements for the lateral tables 42.

The pinion shaft 82 is preferably connected to the source of power 32 by means of a sprocket 86 driven by a chain operated by the motor 32. The pinion shaft 82 is also provided with a brake mechanism 87 which may be operated by the The manual lever 89 also of power 32 and the pinion'shaft 82.

When it is desired to fill the tank with pre-" means of this apparatus the tank 24 is rotated slowly and continuously during the transportation of the concrete from the central plant to the point where the building operations are conducted. The shell of the tank is smooth-walled, there being no paddles, blades or vanes or any :agitating devices within the tank. When the apparatus schematically illustrated by reference character v33 in the drawings, the tank being The .of the truck or the truck frame.

The engine 32is preferably set at such a speed and the concrete flows out of the tankalong chute that the tank. 24 will rotate at from eight to twelve revolutions per minute. vThis operation of the tank combined with the fact that the interior of the-tank is entirely nonobstructed, sub jects the wet, fiowable concrete within the tank,

- to a slow rolling over motion which has the effect.

of releasing all air entrained within the concrete during the violent agitation to which it is subjected during the mixing of the raw materials;

In addition, therefore, to preventingstratifica tion and setting of the concrete the present apparatus also subjects the concrete to a conditioning treatment which causes the expulsion of the entrained air in theconcrete and thereby greatly improves its quality. I g

The construction illustrated in Fig.2 offthe' drawings constitutes a unit which may be mounted on a motor truck for transporting the same or if desired it may be mounted on an industrial car for travel on rails. While it is preferred that the vehicle which transports the unit shown in Fig. 2 should be provided with a hoisting mech-- anism to tilt the entire unit to its dischargeposition, it is obvious that if desired the unit ma y be discharged with the aid of any hoisting mechanism. By opening thedischarge door most of the contents of'the tank will flow out and the remainder maybe scraped out by any suitable implement. 1

In the apparatusshown in Fig. 15, the same unit illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings'is mounted insuch a manner that it may be hoisted to a much higher level as shown. For this purpose it isnot necessary to modify the constr'uc tion of the unit which comprises the tiltable frame, the tank and the operating device for the tank which are also carried by the frame. Neither is it necessary to modify the construction t It is merely necessary to insert between the tiltable frame and the body frame of the truck the apparatus shown in Figs. 15 to 21, which provide for raising the tank tothe higher level indicated. This apparatus comprises one pair of arms'100 which members 34 at the points 101 and provided with means at the lower end to slide within the channel whichtravelswithin the channel of the member.

104. A cross member is carried by:the-mem'- bers 100 at their lower ends as shown in Figs. 17

and 20. Another pair of members 103 are pivoted at their lower ends tothe pivot points105 which arecarried by the rear end of the bodyframe and are provided with means at their upperends for sliding with relation tothe tilt are pivoted at their upper ends to the frame a able frame members 34. These means are shown in Fig. 18. The member 103 is provided with a yoke 106 which carries a stud shaft 107, the latter 40 I being provided with-a rotatable roller 108 which engages against the lower face of the member 34.

The stud shaft 107 also carries an angle bracket 109 which rides over theupper face of the bottom 110 of the channel member 34. I

Each pair of corresponding elements 100 and 103 are pivotedto each other .asshown in Fig. 19 at 111.

The hoisting device 112 engages the cross bar 113 which is disposed between the members 103.

I It will be seen from the above that when the hoisting device 112 is operated the tank..-may be raised from its normal position to-the position shown in Figs. 15 and 16 and that during this operation the upperend of members 103 will travel in thechannelmembersB l and the lower end of .members 100 will travel in the channel members 104 and in the collapsed'condition the rear end of the tank will coincide approximately,

with the rear end of the frame104 and'will overlie thepivot point 105. Y

.The present invention therefore. comprises a unit which consists of a frame 34 which supports a rotatable tank and also supports a source of power for rotating the tank. The frame also supports control mechanism such as a clutch or a brake for controlling the rotation of the tank. This entire unit may be mounted on a truck as shown in Fig. '1 so that the same is pivoted with relation tothe truck and may be tilted by means of the hoisting mechanism to thelslanting position-shown in Fig.1. ,The same unit, however,

may be mounted as shown in Figs. ,15 and 16, so. that it may beraised to a muchhigh'er level and tilted to its slanting position at the same time.

One of the advantages that flow from the apparatusdisclosed herein resides in the fact that the. unit shown in Fig; 2 of the drawings, or if desired that unit combined with the elements 100' and 103, is, interchangeable with a standard dump body. In other words, I a truck carrying the standard dump "body may be, utilized also for carrying the apparatus of the presentapplication by merely removing the standard-dump body Bythis means the truck has a double utilityv material desired and by the removal of the standard dump body for the substitution'of the, presentapparatus the same truck may be used for transporting wet, flowable concrete from a mixing plant to the point where, the construction oper-- ations are being'conducted.

Having described my invention I do to be limited to the specific construction illustrated in the drawings, many modifications thereof falling within the scope of the appended claims, being apparent to those skilled in the art.v Ic1aim:

1. Apparatus for transporting wet, flowable concreteadaptedto be mounted on a truck interchangeably-with a standard "dump .body, comprising avframe, a tank carried by said frame, a motor carried by said frame for rotating said tank, a trunnion bearing and a support therefor .not wish disposed between said motor and said tank, said support also having means for supporting one end of thepower shaft of the motor.

2. An apparatus of the class described. comlarged' head interiorly of the tank, and a flange carried bysaid trunnion exteriorly of said tank, said headand flange clamping said end wall and stiffening plate. I

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising a cylindrical tank shell, anend wall having an annular flange disposed interiorly of said shell and attached to the ends of said shell, said endwall having an opening extending to the end of said wall, an external reenforcing bar attached to said shell adjacent the said opening and extending to the'plane of said end wall, a reenforcing frame for said opening amxed to the outerface of said end wall, and a door for said opening.

.4. Apparatus for transporting wet, flowable,

ready-mixed concrete from a mixing plant to a place of usage comprising, a frame, a pair of spaced trunnion bearings upon the frame, a tank having horizontal trunnions at opposite ends engaged in the trunnion bearings, and an opening between a trunnion and the periphery of the tank in one end of the tank, closable by a closure member; in which each tank end is clamped with a trunnion head, a relatively large diameter stiffening plate which is welded around its periphery to the tank end, and a flange member.

5. Apparatus for transporting wet, flowable, ready-mixed concrete from a'mixing plantto a place of'usage comprising a frame, a pair of spaced trunnion bearings upon the frame, a tank having horizontal trunnions at opposite ends engaged in the trunnion bearings, and an opening between a trunnion and the periphery of the tank in one end of the tank, closable by a closure member; in which a flange is secured concentric withthe trunnion on the outside of the end of the tank having the opening and in which the closure member slides in tapered guides whichcause the door to move toward the tank as itslides toward the periphery of the tank and which tapered guides permit the door to move away from the tank as it moves toward the flange, whereby the door clears part of the flange to thus permit a greater distance of opening of the door; I

7 I EDWARD A. HOFFMANN. 

